Intergenerational transmission of neighbourhood poverty: an analysis of neighbourhood histories of individuals

Abstract

The extent to which socioeconomic (dis)advantage is transmitted between generations is receiving increasing attention from academics and policymakers. However, few studies have investigated whether there is a spatial dimension to this intergenerational transmission of (dis)advantage. Drawing on the concept of neighbourhood biographies, this study contends that there are links between the places individuals live with their parents and their subsequent neighbourhood experiences as independent adults. Using individual-level register data tracking the whole Stockholm population from 1990 to 2008, and bespoke neighbourhoods, this study is the first to use sequencing techniques to construct individual neighbourhood histories. Through visualisation methods and ordered logit models, we demonstrate that the socioeconomic composition of the neighbourhood children lived in before they left the parental home is strongly related to the status of the neighbourhood they live in 5, 12 and 18 years later. Children living with their parents in high poverty concentration neighbourhoods are very likely to end up in similar neighbourhoods much later in life. The parental neighbourhood is also important in predicting the cumulative exposure to poverty concentration neighbourhoods over a long period of early adulthood. Ethnic minorities were found to have the longest cumulative exposure to poverty concentration neighbourhoods. These findings imply that for some groups, disadvantage is both inherited and highly persistent.

The temporal stability of children's neighborhood experiences: A follow-up from birth to age 15

“…To the contrary, particularly the ethnic composition of the neighborhood was found to be more stable over time among children from immigrant families than among native Dutch children. These findings are in line with previous research (Quillian 2003;van Ham et al 2014) suggesting that ethnic minority children have a stronger persistence of neighborhood disadvantage than children from the majority population.…”

“…Thus, in other words, especially those young people who have been consistently exposed to socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods may experience negative outcomes. Despite the fact that research increasingly recognizes the importance of the temporal dynamics of childhood disadvantage, children's neighborhood characteristics are still frequently measured at a single point in time (e.g., Assari et al 2016;de Vuijst, van Ham, and Kleinhans 2015;Page and Solon 2002;van Ham et al 2014). Whether or not such point-in-time measures serve as valid proxies for the neighborhood conditions that children endure in the long run depends on the amount of continuity or change in children's neighborhood environment over time.…”

“…Over the past decades there has been a growing interest among social scientists as to what extent and how characteristics of the neighborhood in which people live influence various individual outcomes, such as educational achievement, employment, delinquency, and health (e.g., Luke and Xu 2009;Sampson, Morenoff, and GannonRowley 2002;van Ham et al 2014). Although 'neighborhood effects' have been found across the life course, neighborhoods seem to be more relevant for children and adolescents than for adults, because young people are more likely to spend a great proportion of their time in their local environment (Duncan, Boisjoly, and Harris 2001).…”

Neighbourhood Effects Research at a Crossroads. Ten Challenges for Future Research Introduction

“…Most studies of neighbourhood effects investigate the instantaneous effects of single pointin-time measurements of neighbourhood environments on individual outcomes. However, it has repeatedly been suggested that most theories of neighbourhood effects assume medium to long-term exposure to poverty neighbourhoods for there to be an effect Musterd et al, 2012;van Ham et al, 2012c).…”

Unpacking the Relationship between Parenting and Poverty: Theory, Evidence and Policy

“…The poor environment and neighbourhood theme posited that parents' characteristics and parenting styles are significantly influenced by the neighbourhood and environment (Pinderhughes et al, 2001;Caughy et al, 2003;Leventhal and BrooksGunn, 2003;Barnes, 2004;Gutman et al, 2005;Van Ham et al, 2014).…”